[New Era] A dispute over the appointment of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) leadership has evolved into a…

A dispute over the appointment of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) leadership has evolved into a broader constitutional debate about the extent of Parliament's oversight powers.

One thing is clear from the opposition: they will not swallow whatever the ruling party brings to the House hook, line and sinker.

The debate intensified after Speaker of the National Assembly Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila rejected opposition demands for access to internal selection records while releasing President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah's signed nomination letter.

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The disagreement unfolded this week as lawmakers prepared to vote on Nandi-Ndaitwah's nominations of current ECN commissioner Gerson Sindano as chairperson, together with Emmerentia Leonard and Julieta Diva Ferreira as commissioners.

AR

Affirmative Repositioning (AR) leader Job Amupanda, through his lawyers Kadhila Amoomo Legal Practitioners, demanded that the vote be postponed until Parliament is provided with documents relating to the recruitment and interview process.

The request included interview score sheets, evaluation records, minutes of selection committee meetings and the committee's recommendations to the President.

In a letter addressed to the Speaker, Amupanda argued that members of Parliament could not exercise an informed and independent judgement without access to the records that informed the nominations.

However, late yesterday, Amupanda's legal team dragged Kuugongelwa-Amadhila to court over the matter.

"We are committed to fight for you inside the National Assembly and outside the National Assembly. Our urgent application will be heard in the High Court today at 15h15, represented by Kadhila Amoomo Legal Practitioners. They [National Assembly] are still refusing to give us records relating to interview minutes, scoresheets and other records, including the selection committee recommendations to the President," Amupanda said on his social media platforms.

He added: "By refusing to give us the letter from the President, which we saw for the records, Swapo called for the vote. The vote, however, failed because they did not meet the voting quorum. We are in court to protect the Constitution. We are not zombies, and we will scrutinise".

Speaker

Delivering her ruling on Wednesday, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said the Electoral Act clearly separates the responsibilities of the selection committee, the President and the National Assembly.

"The mandate of this House is confined to determining whether to approve or reject the president's nominations. It is not the function of the National Assembly to scrutinise, review or revisit the internal processes, deliberations or evaluation records of the committee," she said.

The Speaker explained that, once the selection committee had received applications, interviewed candidates and submitted recommendations to the President, it had completed its statutory mandate. Parliament's role, she said, begins only when the President submits nominees for approval under Section 6(17) of the Electoral Act.

Although Kuugongelwa-Amadhila rejected the request for access to the selection committee's records, she presented Nandi-Ndaitwah's signed nomination letter to lawmakers.

The Speaker maintained that interview assessments, scoring sheets and other deliberative documents remain the property of the selection committee and cannot be released by her office.

The ruling immediately drew mixed reactions from opposition parties.

LPM

Landless People's Movement (LPM) MP Eneas Emvula also backed calls for greater transparency.

During the debate, he argued that the issue was not about the suitability of Sindano as an individual "zombie" but about Parliament's constitutional duty to properly scrutinise executive appointments.

Emvula said lawmakers should have access to the selection committee's application and interview records to determine whether the process complied with the Constitution and the Electoral Act.

He further warned that Parliament risked becoming a "rubber stamp" for appointments originating from State House if recommendations were approved without meaningful scrutiny.

The debate also revived criticism of the ECN's handling of recent elections.

The Natizombies assembly will, however, revolutionise and extend its sitting until today to conclude debates on several outstanding matters on the order paper before Parliament adjourns.

Swapo

The decision followed a motion without notice that was moved by Swapo chief whip Alpheus! Naruseb for the house to extend its normal sitting schedule until midday on Friday.

The additional sitting comes after lawmakers from the ruling Swapo Party and the opposition failed to conclude several key matters before the House.

These include the confirmation of Sindano as chairperson of the ECN.

Parliament did not endorse the nomination of Bryan Eiseb as director general of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

It also did not consider the proposed one-year extension of Advocate Erna van der Merwe's term as deputy director general of the ACC. In addition, the House did not debate or vote on the nomination of two Members of Parliament to serve on the Security Commission.

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The National Assembly ordinarily sits from Tuesday to Thursday, while Mondays are reserved for committee meetings.

PDM

At a press conference yesterday, Popular Democratic Movement leader McHenry Venaani supported the extension but argued that a single additional sitting would not be enough to deal with the growing workload before Parliament goes on recess.

"The question that must be put to all of us is, why are we going on recess if we do not have the resources to go and do the work that needs to be done with oversight?" he asked.

Parliament is expected to adjourn on Friday and resume sittings in September.

Venaani instead proposed that the House extend its sittings by another week before recess and reconvene for an additional week in September to clear the outstanding business.

He also rejected suggestions that the opposition caused the growing number of questions on the order paper.

"That can't be an argument.

That's a constitutional provision and constitutional requirement for Members of Parliament to hold the executive to account," he said.

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